Catching Up
by AiKizuna
Summary: When the safety of Konoha is threatened, Tsunade counts on Sakura to get to the bottom of things. But can Sakura manage this dangerous mission without the help of her friends from Team 7?
1. Chapter 1: A Request

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune burst through the door, nearly stumbling into the Hokage's office. The fifth finished her sip of sake and looked up from her papers, a bit peeved.

"What is it, Shizune?" Tonton ran from Shizune's side and leaped into Tsunade's arms as Shizune struggled to catch her breath.

"Please…come. Quickly!"

"I'm busy. What could possibly be so importa- Hey! Are you listening? Shizune!" Tsunade got up and ran after the woman who had run down the hall without letting her finish her sentence.

* * *

"Forgive me, Lady Tsunade. I came as fast as I could," said the pink-haired kunoichi as she stood in front of the Hokage's desk, "What did you need me for?" The fifth glared into Sakura's jade eyes with a terrifyingly serious expression. Her chin was leaning on her folded hands, which were being held up by her elbows against the desk top.

"Corpses. Four corpses." Sakura's eyes widened in shock at her master's words.

"C-Corpses? You mean…do you need me to assist the nin at the hospital? Has there been an accident?"

"No. No accident. A squad of jonin were murdered on their way back from a mission."

"I-I don't understand," Sakura said in shock, "Who did this? Why has this happened?"

"We are unaware of the specific details. One of the ninja made it back alive and gave us intel, however, he died within minutes from blood loss," she began unfolding a map, and placed her finger on an area just around the borders of the Land of Fire, "They were ambushed somewhere around here. We have concluded that the attack had nothing to do with the mission the squad had been on," she turned to Sakura, "I need you to form a group and head out to this area in pursuit of the attackers." Sakura stared at the Hokage in shock.

"Forgive me, master, but why me? I'm only of chuunin level! Wouldn't it be safer to have someone like Shikamaru accompany me? And we hardly have any information! We'd just be going out on a whim! It'd practically be a suicide mission!" Tsunade paused for a moment before speaking.

"I know. I'm aware of the circumstances. You'd have to be crazy to go along with this," she looked up at her pupil with a smirk on her face, "which is why I chose you. Normally, I'd have Shikamaru or another jonin carry this out, however, we fear that this attack wasn't just something random. There have been no reports of something like this happening in any other village, which means whoever did this is after the leaf. We need our higher-level shinobi here to protect the village." The fifth handed the kunoichi a piece of parchment containing a list of shinobi. "These are all of the ninja available for this mission. Take whoever you see fit and head out within an hour." Sakura nodded, quickly reading over the list of names. She clenched the paper in her hands tightly. _Leading a mission of this rank? And with Naruto gone…_

She started for the door, but stopped at the sound of Tsunade's voice.

"And Sakura," the Hokage said, arms crossed.

"Yes?"

"I know you won't let me down."

Sakura smirked, her face full of determination.

"Right!"


	2. Chapter 2: Departure

**Hey, guys. So here's my second chapter. I hope you like it! Please review. I would very much appreciate it if you did. I'd love to know of my strong and weak points so I can improve.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

* * *

Sakura gently traced the wooden patterns of the small picture frame as she held it in her hand. She gazed at the expressions of her teammates and allowed a small smile to cross her face.

_That was the day it all began._

She slowly slid her finger over until it reached Sasuke, who had his arms crossed and was flashing his signature why-am-I-here-with-these-idiots scowl, then to Naruto, who seemed just about as thrilled as Sasuke had been. She giggled as she noted the smiles on her and Kakashi-Sensei's faces, as they both seemed to be ignoring the boys beside them with their immature behavior. She recalled the ease of things in those days in which they spent dog-walking, picking up trash, finding lost pets, and so on.

_If only things were that simple now, huh guys?_

She let out a long sigh and sat down on her bed, still clutching the frame. Her eyes left the picture and instead gazed at the floor of her dark bedroom. So much had changed since that day. _Just look at me now, _she thought, _I'm a chuunin. And it's not just me, all of us have grown so much._ She placed the picture face up on her lap and looked at it once more. _Especially you, Naruto. _

With a light shake of her head, she was back in reality. She stood up, placing the picture back in its designated spot on her nightstand. She took her long hooded rain cloak and tossed it over both shoulders, fastening it at the neck. It hung over her body like thick, tan drapes. She took a last glance at her old team, and with a deep breath, she was out into the cold, rainy night.

* * *

"Um, excuse me, Sakura-san," Lee called out, his voice trying to compete with the sound of heavy rainfall. The kunoichi stopped on the next tree branch her feet came in contact with, and the four others followed. She didn't turn to face them, she didn't say a word. She just waited for Lee to speak.

"Um, well, we have been travelling a long while, but we have not said a word-" Sakura spun around suddenly, causing Lee to stop mid-sentence.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I wanted to cover as much ground as possible before it got too dark," she said. The others nodded understandingly. She looked around, then down at the area below them. "I suppose now would be a good time to rest."

Once they had all gathered themselves, being sheltered by a large tree, she spoke again, "You are all aware of the situation, and what we've been asked to do," they all nodded as she pulled a folded paper from her fanny pack, soon opening it to reveal a map. She placed a finger on it. "As of right now, we're here," she said, then she slid her finger up and continued, "but our destination is right here. Now, Hinata, I had asked you to do something for me." The quiet girl nodded and began to speak.

"U-Um…well…the body…it was-"

"Well? Spit it out already, would ya?" Kiba barked. The Hyuuga looked down apologetically.

"His internal organs…his whole body…nearly seemed destroyed on the inside…However, on the surface there was nothing more than a few gashes," she explained, "I-It was unlike anything I have ever seen before…"

Sakura took a nervous deep breath before saying, "Is that all?"

"N-No," the dark blue-haired girl said quietly, "There's one more thing…the man, when he arrived…the medic told me…he was in a complete daze. It was almost as if his body was there, but his soul was somewhere else entirely…that is why they got so little information out of him…"

No one said a word. _His soul…being ripped out of his body? _Sakura thought, _Genjutsu? No, could that even be possible? _She reverted her gaze to her teammates. Their expressions must have matched hers, for it seemed that they all had begun to realize the fatality of the situation. She was the first to break the silence.

"We'll stay here for the night."

"What? Whadd'ya mean "We'll stay here for the night"? Shouldn't we cover more ground?" Kiba shouted, frustrated. Shino spoke for the first time.

"My insects cannot fly in these conditions."

"We are all tired, and it is dark," Lee added, "If we were to run into an enemy, they would have the upper hand."

"Lee's right," Sakura agreed, "None of us are in any condition to go on. We should continue as soon as it gets lighter," she turned to Kiba, "But, seeing as you're so eager to keep going, I'm sure you wouldn't mind keeping first watch." Hinata giggled at this.

"Hmph," Kiba growled, but he reluctantly agreed.

* * *

As the pink-haired kunoichi lay in her sleeping bag, she couldn't help but wonder how her knuckle-headed friend was doing on his mission. _Man, Naruto. It sure would have helped back there to hear one of your "Who cares how strong this guy is? I'll kick his ass!" comments to knock the sense back into all of us. _Although he was kind of a moron, she felt her chest grow heavy at the thought of his whereabouts being unknown. In fact, if it hadn't been for the situation she faced at the moment, she might actually be worried about him. She quickly snapped out of it. _Naruto…hurt? Nah, not a chance. _The kid always got himself out of things and came out alright.

She continued for some time, lying down and thinking. However, with the help of the taps of the rain, she soon found herself in a deep sleep.

**Well, that was it! How'd you like it? R&R!**


	3. Chapter 3: What Lurks in the Darkness

**Alright, well, here's chapter 3. Sorry for all my comments, they must get annoying. Sometimes I'll have a lot, sometimes I'll have none. But anyways, if you're reading this right now, please review? I'd really appreciate a review, some people have favorited and/or put this story on their alerts, but no one wants to write a review for poor old me, huh? ):**

**Haha, jk. xD …or am I? ._. …Nah, I am. xD …but seriously. ._.**

* * *

She felt a dark force pressing on her body. She tossed, turned, struggled to move, but the weight refused to lift. She swung herself upward until she sat up, her knees beneath her, gasping for breath.

_Where am I?_ she thought, but reality soon hit her. She calmed down a bit, so as not to wake her friends, but soon noticed they weren't around. No one was. It was so dark she could hardly see her hands as she held them up to her face.

"Sakura-chan…" she heard a familiar voice call to her. _Naruto?_ She quickly shot up and stood on her feet, half out of fear, and half out of excitement. Hearing her friend's voice in a place like this…did this mean there was hope?

She did not speak, but stared. She stared in the direction of the sound, or at least where she thought was the direction. It was hard to tell when she was trapped, so deep in this sea of black. After what seemed like hours of silence and short, painful breaths, she decided she ought to respond.

"N-Naruto?"

She waited. There was no answer.

"Hello? Lee? …Hinata?"

Not a sound. Her heart began to race, she felt herself getting hotter, her lungs being squeezed…No, she must not panic. She _couldn't _panic. She searched the darkness with her deep, green eyes. Had something happened to her friends? Where were they? Had they gotten attacked? Who…or _what_ had attacked them? And…did that mean it would be coming back for her?

Using as much strength as she could muster, she pushed her feet off the ground and began to move. Had her legs always been so heavy?

_I have to get out of here,_ she thought. _I can't breathe!_

She tried to pick up her speed, but her bare foot hit something inter, causing her to lose balance. Her face slid against the ground with a thump, burning her skin. She pulled herself up and wince at the sharp pain she felt in different places on her body. Struggling to hold back tears, she clasped her knees to her chest and tucked her head in tight. Her long hair hung down, reaching past her arms, which continued to hug her legs. Wait…long? Her hair was long? She hadn't worn her hair long since…

Her thoughts were interrupted by a faint rustling sound off to her right. Her eyes widened as she tightened her hold on her legs. _Maybe if I'm quiet, it won't notice me. Maybe I'm safe…_

Another sound came. But this time, it wasn't coming from her right. It wasn't coming from anywhere…it was coming from _everywhere. _It was laughter. Cheerful, menacing, demonic laughter. She trembled, barely holding back a fearful whimper. Tears ran down her face like a silent waterfall, nearly soaking her lap. What could she do? Where could she go? And who, or _what_, was watching her? _But, more importantly, _she thought, _why do I feel so weak?_

The piercing laugh ended, and she mentally breathed a sigh of relief. _Mentally,_ of course. She wouldn't dare make a sound. She allowed her muscles to relax, somewhat. Had it gone?

She suddenly froze. Something had touched her arm. It was cold, wet, it sent chills down her spine…

She released her grip on her legs. There was no one around her. She examine her arm, noticing a few drops of liquid sliding down the side of it. Was it her tears? No, they couldn't have reached that side of her arm, and they were already dried.

_Rain? _she thought. _No, it only seems to be these drops._ She examined the liquid closer. It was dark, slow-moving, thick. What could it be? Then, suddenly, something stood out to her. Even with this dark atmosphere surrounding her, she could clearly see the liquid's deep, crimson color.

_Blood. _

But where had it come from? It certainly wasn't her own. She paused. Where else? …_Above._ She forced her neck to move, _slowly,_ until her head faced upward. There was a dark mass, seemingly hanging from a branch above. Hanging? No, it was dangling. Lifelessly. She felt her stomach twist. _A body?_ She stepped back, allowing herself to get a better view. _Why am I doing this? I need to run while I have the cha- No, how could you say that? Someone could need your help!_ Her inner-war stopped, though, as she gasped. It was the body's condition. It had been mercilessly maimed, ripped apart by something. (She was sure now that it was _something_. No human could have done something so horrid.) But what disgustingly barbaric beast could do such a thing? The blood…the flesh…it made her want to vomit. But there was something eerily familiar about the body. The baggy suit (now torn), the muscular, masculine tone…

She looked farther up to see messy, light hair framing his head. Her heart stopped. Her body stopped. She forced her eyes to meet his. They were open, a bright and deep blue.

_No._

* * *

The kunoichi's blood-curdling scream must have woken people for miles, or so her teammates thought as they rushed towards her as she lie there unconscious, breathing so deeply you would have thought she was having a heart attack. Lee kneeled beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Sakura-san…-" He was about to ask her if she was alright when she interrupted him by flying upward with a startled yelp. They all stared at her, dumbfounded. She was still breathing abnormally, her gaze seemed blank. It was almost as if she was looking at something only she could see. Something that wasn't really there.

Lee replaced his hand on her shoulder, and moved until he was directly in front of her.

"Sakura-san?"

* * *

She heard someone call her name. Not once, but multiple times. It wasn't evil, but a friendly and familiar voice. _Lee-san?_

Her vision was slowly coming back to her. She could tell her eyes had been open, but her surroundings had been a blur until now. She found herself awake, sitting up. She looked around to see four pairs of eyes staring at her intently. She was taken a back at first, but soon slowed her breathing. Hinata spoke next.

"U-Um…Are you okay…?"

Sakura's head slowly turned to the girl. She stared at her for a moment, but then replied.

"Um…yeah," she said. She stood up quickly, stumbling a bit, but leaned her arm against the tree to regain balance. "Sorry." She leaned her back against the tree and gently touched her temples with her hands. _What had happened?_ She looked around at her team once more. _And why are they all looking at me like that? _She attempted to clear her throat. It burned. Why did it burn? Had she been yelling? Maybe she just needed something to eat.

"Anyways," she continued, "We should get going soon. Pack up your things, pop some food pills, and drink some water. Tell me when you're all set to go. And hurry." The shinobi nodded and hurried back to their things.

* * *

Sakura chewed the unsatisfactory food pills, washing them down with a drink of water afterwards. After making sure she had everything together, she reached for her headband, which she had slept without. She held it in both of her hands, staring into the shiny metallic sheet with her village's symbol engraved on it. She saw her reflection. Her eyes were bloodshot. Her eyelids and skin around her eyes were puffed up, a pinky-red color. She sighed. Not only had she been yelling, but she had cried as well?

"U-Um….excuse me…" Sakura turned, startled by the quiet girl's voice.

"O-Oh, Hinata," Sakura said, her glum face turning into a small smile. Hinata's gaze moved toward the ground.

"I was just wondering…are you sure you're alright?" Hinata had unintentionally managed to surprise Sakura. She wasn't expecting anyone to ask her a question like that. Or at least, she was _hoping _they wouldn't. She then noticed Hinata's face turning a little pink. She must have been staring at her.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you," she said, "And yes, I'm fine! I just…I just had a dream, is all," her voice trailed off for a moment, but soon returned to its normal and cheerful tone, "But, dreams are dreams, you know? …But don't worry, Hinata. This won't affect the mission. We'll fulfill our duties, get back home, and everything will turn out alright. I assure you, I'm really okay!" Sakura stopped herself from talking any more. She reminded herself she was convincing Hinata, not trying to cheer herself up. Hinata paused for a moment, and then smiled.

"Okay…thank you for being so reassuring."

Sakura smiled, and their friendly moment was soon interrupted by a loud voice.

"Yeah, yeah, we get it. Now let's get a move on!" She looked over to see Kiba and Akamaru (who barked in agreement.) The others were beside him. She hadn't even noticed them. Had they listened to her and Hinata's conversation? She shrugged. _Oh well._

"Right," she said, and she pushed herself off to ground to the nearest branch. They all followed. As they moved, she heard Kiba arguing with Shino about whose tracking skills were better, who would be a bigger help on this mission, things like that. Well…they weren't really _arguing_. It was more of a grouchy Kiba yelling at a nearly silent Shino about how he had a better nose and bug were just creepy, or something like that. She wasn't quite sure. She was too caught up in her thoughts. Something was bothering her about her talk with Hinata.

_Just a dream, _she thought. _Was it?_

* * *

_****_**This was a little longer than my other chapters, which I'm kind of glad about. R&R pleasee! **


	4. Chapter 4: Unlucky

**Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto.**

Night had nearly fallen, and the rain refused to let up. Sakura glanced at her fellow teammates as they leaped through the trees. Each of them shared the same exasperated expression. Would they have to stop to rest? No, they couldn't, they had already wasted too much time. However, none of them were in any condition to continue. Especially not her. She felt…off. Ever since she had woken up, she noticed her speed and perception were not at their usual levels. There were many times since then when she noticed herself trailing behind her comrades as they traveled. She often found herself in a trance. It seemed no matter how hard she tried she couldn't forget that image…

His body…the forest…that maniacal laugh…all of it. The memories were so vivid. She had tried time and again to forget about them, to focus on her mission, but…

"H-Hey!" She snapped back into reality. Who was shouting? Was it…Kiba? And when had she stopped moving? She felt air hitting her hard against her back. Was she- _Shit!_

She focused her chakra, tried to grab onto anything nearby. Unfortunately, there was nothing within her reach. She just seemed to be uselessly flailing her arms.

She felt herself land softly in someone's firm grasp, and they soon brought her down to safety. She looked up to see Lee staring down at her. He gently placed her on her feet as the others appeared beside them.

"Sakura-san, are you alright?" The pink-haired girl nodded.

"Yes, thank you," she said. They all stared at her expectedly. She crossed her arms and put on a serious expression. "We should be getting close now. It's too dangerous to stop and rest. I know we have a few disadvantages but…we can't afford to give up now." They all nodded, smiling. She turned to Hinata. "Anything?"

"I-I haven't sensed anything for quite some time…"

Sakura's courage faded at this. How far did they need to go? She turned to her right when a small whimper reached her ear. It was Akamaru. He was trembling. But why? Kiba looked just as confused as the rest of them.

There was a gasp, and the shinobi looked up to see the Hyuga girl fall to her knees. After choking, causing blood to run down her chin, she fell forward. Each of them froze at what they saw next. Her back. Several kunai had been wedged into it.

"H-Hinata!" Kiba shouted. There was a slight thud as yet another kunai was sent flying, this time hitting the ground. There was another noise along with it. Sort of a fizzing, burning noise. Sakura's eyes widened.

"Paper bomb!"

The shinobi scattered, Kiba grabbing the Hyuga girl as they fled. _Of all the times for an ambush,_ Sakura thought. She kneeled on a large branch, contemplating her next move. It was now dark. The enemy definitely had the upper hand. She could sense her comrades nearby. Thankfully, they had not been separated.

A strong arm wrapped around her torso, stopping her breathing. She felt a cold blade against her throat. _Shit, how had I not-_

She felt a warm breath against her ear.

"Caught so easily, hm? And you call yourself a ninja?"

**That's it for now. Sorry it's so short. xD R&R. **


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